Some commercial products contain d-limonene or pinene, which are derived from naturally occurring products such as oranges, etc. D-Limonene is used extensively in several degreasing and/or cleaning formulations, especially, cleaning asphaltenes and heavy crude residues. Though derived from a natural feedstock or sources, d-Limonene is flammable and has adverse aquatic toxicity (pollutant). Moreover, because it is based on a natural sources or feedstock, terpenes and, especially, d-Limonene are sometimes subject to price fluctuations and availability constraints depending on seasonal crop yield.
Current commercially available cleaning products Megasol™ and Citrikleen™ have d-limonene as the primary active ingredient. While both exhibit cleaning properties, they have two drawbacks associated with them; d-limonene is a sensitizer or mild-to-moderate dermal, eye, and upper respiratory tract irritant and also has an odor, which in high concentrations becomes intolerable to many people. Further these current terpene based solvents are not “rinsable”, meaning they cannot be easily rinsed off with water as they leave a slippery reside and pose additional safety concerns for workers utilizing these solvents (e.g., slipping). Reduced levels of terpene, e.g., d-limonene, thereof while maintaining performance in cost effective cleaning applications is therefore desirable.
Thus, what is needed is an environmentally friendly cleaning composition that has substantially lower toxicity, lower flammability, greater biodegradability, higher flash point, reduced vapor pressure, lower odor, and/or lower VOC and is suitable for treating soiled or contaminated surfaces, in particular, surfaces soiled with tar sands, bitumen, asphaltene and the like, or a combination thereof.